Eggs, yogurt and, most recently, paintballs have been used to damage the interior and exterior of many cars parked in residential areas.

Police believe that one group is most likely behind the attacks and that the participants are probably of high school age.

"With this kind of vandalism, it is obviously kids," said Santa Clara County Deputy Ken Nelson. "Either they are just returning to high school or are about to leave for college and want to have some last summer fun."

Nelson says this type of vandalism is common during the transitional time of summer ending and school getting back into session.

Santa Clara County Sgt. Bill Taite also believes the vandalism is related to summer ending. "Seasonal alliances are reformed at this time," he said. "I am sure it will be dying down soon."

Taite also acknowledges that egging is just a past trend being repopularized. "Most of this kind of vandalism cycles. It just happens to be eggs at the moment," he said.

An example of the more serious vandalism acts of late has been a two-time attack on a particular Saratoga High student.

The vehicle was hit once over Labor Day weekend and a second time a week later. The first incident involved washable paint. However, the second incident caused a series of noticeable dents along the midline of the car.

The mother of the victim, who prefers not to be named, could not believe the extent of the damage. "I gasped because from one fender to the other there were dents from the paintball impact," she said. "Every single panel was hit."

Deputy Nelson, who is investigating this crime, believes the suspects used a machine gun­style paintball device to deliver the damage. He believes it is likely the suspects truly did not realize the impact caused by being so close to the target.

"Truth be told, I think it's mischief gone out of control," said the victim's mother. "I am thinking in my heart that the dent damage was not intended, that it was just supposed to be the paint."

If caught, the suspects will be responsible for reimbursement to each victim for vehicle damage. The perpetrators would also be responsible for any punitive damages determined in court. However, as Nelson points out, if the suspects are over age 18, the consequences will be more severe.

In vandalism cases such as this, victims do not have much recourse outside of contacting the police after the damage has been done. As a preventative measure, residents are encouraged to avoid parking vehicles on the side of the road and to instead park them inside the garage or in the driveway.